After almost 25 years, Canon has updated one of its oldest prime lenses with the new Canon EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM. Adding optical image stabilization and a ring-type ultrasonic autofocus motor, the new fixed, wide-angle lens is an update to the Canon 24mm f/2.8 wide-angle prime originally released in November of 1988.

Touted by Canon as the world’s first wide-angle prime lens with IS, which delivers up to four stops of correction, the new EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM is geared for landscape and architectural shooting, photo reportage, and travel photography. The silent high-speed AF motor makes it well-suited for shooting video as well. The lens’ redesigned optics include aspherical lens elements to correct aberration and improve peripheral image quality.

While the EF 24mm f/2.8 (now discontinued) has held its own since 1988, the improved optics and IS mean that the new lens should be able to perform better than its predecessor in low-light settings. We put the two lenses to the test side-by-side to find out what the true performance differences are.

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